Al Kooper sets the record straight

Now THIS is hilarious.
4 at least the 1st 1/2, Al Kooper's BACKSTAGE PASSES AND BACKSTABBING BASTARDS (2008) is the funniest rockstar autobiography I've ever read. The big laffs drop off later on as Kooper's life gets more serious, but the 1st 1/2 of the book is a non-stop scream.
Kooper is 1 of the all-time greatest behind-the-scenes guys in rock&roll. Just a few bits from his resume: Played organ on Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." Produced the 1st 3 Lynyrd Skynyrd albums. Formed Blood, Sweat and Tears (& was later forced out of what was supposed to be His Band). Played French horn & organ on the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Produced the 1st Tubes album. Wrote "This Diamond Ring." Was a member of The Blues Project. Then there were his various Adventures & Super Sessions with Stephen Stills & Mike Bloomfield, etc....
You get 2 read about all this & a lot more Bsides in BP&BB -- there's stuff Kooper's done that he never even MENTIONS. He's been a busy guy since the early '60s. & he's still workin'....
You follow Kooper as he starts out as a songwriter trying 2 get something going in New York's Brill Building neighborhood. (He goes 2 great lengths 2 Xplain how the "Brill Building Sound" is a misnomer, that the Bldg. had already peaked in the '40s & '50s, & that the songwriters who came out of that area in the early '60s were in the neighborhood but not actually IN THAT BUILDING -- 1 of his goals in writing this book was 2 set the record straight about things he witnessed.)
You'll watch as Gary Lewis and the Playboys take Kooper's "This Diamond Ring" & turn it in2 what Kooper calls "a turkey milkshake" (he didn't like their version). You'll laugh as Kooper & friends watch the national charts & see "Diamond Ring" go right 2 #1 -- & all Kooper can do is laff in disbelief....
You'll B shocked as Kooper is edged out of his own band (BS&T) in an ugly power struggle that leaves grudges that last 4 YEARS....
You'll laff as Kooper gently nudges his way in2 a Bob Dylan session & ends up contributing a classic organ part on "Like a Rolling Stone" -- on an instrument Kooper barely knows how 2 play.... Then Koop finds himself in demand as a session player 4 acts who wanna get "that Dylan sound."
You'll B there in the studio as Kooper produces the 1st 3 Skynyrd albums -- & then MCA Records stonewalls Kooper 4 his producers' royalties 4 almost a year....
You'll meet a notorious music-biz mgr who collects Kooper's royalties 4 YEARS & then hasta B pursued in court....
You'll B there as Kooper plays organ on the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" & offers 2 overdub horns on the song -- & a year later gets a tape from Mick with a note that sez "Add whatever horns you want...." & Koop then blows his lungs out trying 2 get that introductory French-horn part down perfect....
& more, & more. You'll see Kooper on stage with Dylan; meeting artist Norman Rockwell 2 pose 4 a classic album cover with guitarist Mike Bloomfield; you'll see Bloomfield back out of stage appearances with Kooper MULTIPLE TIMES 4 no clear reason....; & in the midst of all this Kooper occasionally puts 2gether a few solo albums....
Things get pretty serious in places: Koop has an addiction 2 painkillers which he beats; later on he loses most of his eyesight but carries on songwriting & recording; eventually he starts getting recognized 4 all his behind-the-scenes work. As the book's cover sez, these really R the "Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor."
But the book gets a little long -- over 300 pgs. In the last 1/2 the laffs drop way off as Koop battles his vision problems & a brain tumor(!), along with some of the other Fun Parts of growing older. By the end he comes across as just a talented-but-modest down-to-earth guy who's no longer trying to make a joke of everything.
An earlier version of this book came out in the late '70s & was edited by Ben Edmonds. It's probly a non-stop scream. 4 this version, I'm tempted 2 say we coulda used less about Kooper's love life & health problems, his multiple marriages & his partying -- but there is A LOT about the '60s & '70s music-biz here that's worth checking out. & most of it's pretty freakin' funny.
There's also a pretty amazing 9-pg "selected" discography at the end that recounts mosta what Kooper's bn doing musically 4 the past 50 years. You might B suprised by summa the music he's been in on....

COMING NEXT: One-Day Music Fest!